Eulogy
by Smileylion
Summary: The ultimate predetor is skulking inside Atlantis. John is the only survivor of a massacre that he can't even remember. Or is he? The tension builds as he finds out his recent past, and there's only one option left. Set mid S4, please read and review.
1. Beyond my vision

**This is the only "scary" stroy I've written so far, so sorry if this chapter isn't as good as it should be! It'll get better, trust me!**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Atltantis or any of the Stargate teams. Darn.**

Eulogy

"So, when Pittsburgh had the ball on the Dallas' 10 yard line, Lynn Swann went in deep covered like a cheap suit by Cowboys corner Mark Washington. Then Terry Bradshaw threw the ball up, and Swann, he leapt high over Washington and bobbled the ball, and held on for whole 53 yard gain. Defiantly the most spectacular moments in Super bowl!" John finished the recount with a triumph. "Pretty cool, huh?"

Zelanka looked at him blankly. "Yes, it seems quite amazing," he said encouragingly. "I remember when I was pigeon racing, the day fell right on the day of a forecasting storm. It didn't come until after we'd launched the pigeons, and it lasted for a whole hour, and mine still won! It was an amazing victory, let me tell you." Radek chuckled in joy.

John was about say something else about football, just to show how much better than Pigeon racing it was, when something moving caught his gaze. He turned to look at the wall a little way of from where they walking along the corridor. It was like smoke, he saw it for a moment before it melted away. He blinked, and saw it clearly. It was like a great human spider, grey and ghostly pale, climbing slowly around the wall. He stopped, and Radek looked at him. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Can't you see it?" John said quietly. They were all alone in the hall.

Radek glanced worriedly over to the piece of wall were John was staring. "There's....nothing there."

John frowned, still looking at the circling creature. It seemed docile enough. It was just clambering around in confusion. He walked carefully towards it, hand outstretched. It looked up sharply, and John saw it's eyes were red with blood, and purple all around. It's veins were clearly visible through the grey pallor of it's face. It squinted at him, backing away in fear. He stopped walking. "Hello?" He said lamely. "What are..." He stopped, because the creature narrowed it's eyes, and an cannibalistic gleam came into them. It opened it's mouth, and revealed long, dripping pointed fangs. John backed away. It shrieked at him, making the hairs on the back of John's neck stand up. He ran backwards to Radek. "Run!" He said to the man.

"But there's nothing...!" Radek tried, but John pushed him away. "Run!" He said again.

The creature clenched it's fists, and two arms shot out of it's sides. They began to claw it the air. John let out a cry of terror as the creature slowly opened it's arms wide, and a wide, thin, translucent skin between it's two grotesque limbs. It dropped to the floor. It crawled towards him, still whining and keening in it's strange voice. John was paralysed with terror. It shrieked again, and launched itself into the air straight at his face. John yelled, and his reflexes kicked in, as the creature slammed into the poor, frozen Radek. The mans screams and a ghastly crunching and tearing noise echoed around the empty halls, as John streaked away from the place.


	2. R is for run

Chapter Two

John opened his eyes. They felt sticky and congealed. He frowned and put a hand up to his face, wiping the sweat from his brow. Strange, why was he lying down? He wasn't lying down before. He propped himself up on one elbow and rubbed his eyes. He could see...nothing. Again, strange. He rolled over and heaved himself up. He squinted, and through blurred vision, he could see the dim outlines of the wall designs. Ok, so he was in a corridor. That narrowed the field. Shaking his head, and ignoring the pains in his knees from the awkward way in which he was lying, he desperately grasped at the blurry facts. He was in Atlantis. Well, at least he could remember that. He was with a man, and talking about...Pigeons? That couldn't be right. John tried to visualise the mans face. Glasses, messy, thinning hair and a blue shirt. Radek! He looked around, but couldn't see anyone. He heard a slight noise down the hall, and backed into the wall. He looked around the corner, and saw the most grotesque sight he had ever seen. Dozens of creatures, all stalking around in circles. He looked more closely, and saw one of them had dried blood all around it's face, and a strip of blue cloth hung on one claw.

John glared at it, which was all he could do. He had no weapons, and if he ran, they would hear him. If only he could get away somehow. He walked carefully, back to the wall, breathing quickly. It was like walking on eggshells. One of the creatures growled, and he stopped, watching the doorway. His heart pounded in his ears. Why hadn't the creatures heard his breathing? Surely it was loud enough. He waited for what seemed like a lifetime, before starting off again. Suddenly, a shriek echoed around his ears. It came from the opposite door! There was nothing for it, he would have to run.

He streaked around the corner, towards the noise. The creatures behind him let out a screech of anger, and thudded along behind him. The beats of their feet merged with the violent pounding of his heart as he flew along, away from the nightmares. Except he knew they would never stop. Never tire. catch him eventually, then...He twisted around a corner sharply, and, yes! A cupboard! He shot inside, closing the door quietly behind him. The creature screeched around, following his trail. They stopped, looking around eyes glowing in the semi-darkness. They were in a place were corridors met, and the door blended in perfectly with the other walls. John dared to peep around the door, opening it just slightly. Why weren't they moving? Was it...was it really him they were chasing? He held his breath. The creatures stood perfectly still, until something so small and insignificant moved on the floor. A red dot. Like the one on a P-90. John's eyes widened. It moved, quivering slightly, over to the biggest of the creatures until it was right on it's head. John blinked, and in that second a shot fired, and the leader crumpled to the ground. The others fell on him, tearing his flesh with their talons. Nothing moved for a second, then a block of C4 with a tag on it thudded dully to the floor. The creatures stared at it. Since it was doing nothing, they turned their attention back to the half-eaten carcase before them. John bit his lip. After a few more seconds, a figure dropped down for ceiling, and ran like hell for the cupboard were he was standing. He flattened himself to the wall as the person hurled inside, grabbed the remote control for the ignition of the explosive, jammed her finger in her ear, and flicked the deadly switch. John just had time to close his eyes and put his hands over his ears, before a massive explosion shook the cupboard. The person straightened up, and John saw a female outline. He didn't say a word to her, but she sighed, and looked up. Right into his eyes. He stiffened, seeing the anger in hers. She raised her gun, but he held out his hands. She lowered it gingerly. "What...."

"I'm John Sheppard," he said hoarsely.

She didn't say anything.

"Look, it's ok, I need you to help me...." His knees crumpled before he could say anything more, because she had hit him with the handle of her gun.


	3. Story of the survivor

Chapter Three

John opened his eyes and frowned. Hadn't he been here before? Well not here, but in this position. Then he remembered, and opened his eyes quickly. He seemed to be in the back of Puddle Jumper. How strange. He looked around more carefully, and saw the entire weaponry of Atlantis strung up on cords around the place. P-90's, grenades, hand guns, C4, whole loops of ammunition and all three Naquada generators. He closed his mouth quickly, and tried to get up, but the thick leather restraints stopped him. "Dam," he muttered. He looked around again, for something to cut himself free with. Finding nothing, he wriggled around until he had his hand in his pocket. Of course! He had a knife in there! He didn't even think how convenient it was, just the sheer relief of finding some fragile piece of hope. He grasped the handle, but couldn't manover it out. He sighed again, and tried once more. He had just got it to the side of the seam, when he heard a sound coming from the front of the Jumper. He twisted around, ignoring the protest his spine was making. He could just see the shoulder and hair of the woman who had knocked him out. He frowned, but before he could think any more, she turned. He stuffed the knife quickly back into his pocket. She walked through into the back, fiddling with a needle filled with clear liquid.

John closed his eyes, pretending to still be unconscious.

She came up beside him, still engrossed with the needle. He dared to open his eyes just a crack. She was pretty, but hardened. Her hair was matted and tangled with dried blood, almost indistinguishable against the dark brown. He face, although young, had the look of someone who had had to fend for themselves for too long. And had seen too much death. John traced the scars and bruises on her face with his eyes, taking in the black rim around one greenish-grey eye. She looked up suddenly. He closed his eyes again, trying to keep his breathing steady. He felt something dig into his arm. He gasped, and jolted out of pretence. "What the...?" He tried to keep the words from slipping out, but they did. He glared at her.

She took no notice of him, but promptly dug the needle into his arm, and took some of his blood. She stood, and went back into the front of the Jumper.

John watched her, but then foraged in his pocket for the knife again. She came back in, and without looking at him, slipped it out of his fingertips. She walked through again, this time looking at a computer tablet, twirling the knife infuriatingly between her fingers. John frowned again. Resting his head back, he thought of how he might have gotten into the situation. He was with Radek, then...Holy Hell! Radek! He'd just left the man to die! John could have sobbed, but he felt as if he was dying and wilting inside. He'd left him, to save his own cowardly skin.

The woman sauntered back in, but this time looked at him. "Feeling better?" She asked gruffly, sitting beside him.

He glared at him. He knew it wasn't her fault he had left Radek but just felt so....

"Who are you?"

"Can you remember anything yet?" She interrupted him.

"I...what?"

"Remember anything? How you got here, who you are?" She stared at his eyes.

John screwed up his eyes. "I think...John Sheppard. That's my name. Lieutenant Colonel. Um...I was with Radek Zelanka when..." He coughed. "That thing, those things, what were...."

"I don't know." She said shortly.

"Who are you?" John tried again.

"Me? Dr Alexia Willow. I'm a scientist, and, until I found you, I was the only human left from a massacre on Atlantis."

John's mouth had dropped open. "What?" He said. "Massacre, I can't remember..."

"Well, you wouldn't." Alexia got up, and turned her back on him. "One of the...symptoms that everyone suffers from is amnesia. Even if they're immune."

"Immune to what?"

"The disease." Alexia took his pulse rather roughly, then began to undo the straps. "That was what turned those people into cannibalistic animals."

John pulled his hand out of the straps and rubbed his wrist. "Tell me about it."

Alexia smiled. "About what?"

"The disease. The massacre. What happened to my friends."

Alexia's face froze. "I..."

"Please," John grabbed her hand.

Alexia looked at it, then at him. "Alright."

* * *

Alexia walked down the hallway, tablet in hand. She smiled at a marine passing her. Sunlight filtered through the windows. She looked up at a choking noise in front of her. A scientist clutched the pillar, grasping at his throat. She ran over to him.

"Are you ok?" Alexia said.

He looked at her, his face white and drawn. "Help...me." He croaked, and grabbed her jacket.

"What's wrong?" Alexia held his shoulder. "Med team to corridor five, sixth floor!" She yelled into her mic. "You're going to be ok," she smiled weakly at the man.

He coughed again, and slid down the wall onto the floor. Alexia tried to keep him up, but he fell on his face, unconscious. She gasped, and looked around for help. Her shaking fingers reached out towards his neck, feeling for a pulse. It was fast and irregular. Blinking nervously, she rolled him over, and nearly vomited at the sight of what he'd become in a few short seconds. His skin was pale, translucent, with the veins sticking out and throbbing hideously. Swallowing, she peeled back an eyelid to check his pupils. Blood bubbled out over her fingertips, trickling warmly down her wrist. She gritted her teeth, and took a small torch out of her pocket. The pupils were horribly dilated, and lessened only slightly when the light shone onto them. She sighed, and let the eyelid ping back into place. Looking up, she saw the med team approaching.

"Dr Willow," said one of the nurses. "What's going on?"

"I don't know, he just collapsed." Alexia wiped the blood of onto her clothes. "We need to get him to the Infirmary, now." The team lifted the scientist onto the gurney.

Alexia ran her hands through her hair.

_17 hours later_

Dr Keller ran from bed to bed, taking pulses, checking pupils, taking temperatures, administering sedatives. All the same. Dozens of people, all with the same symptoms. She hated it when she couldn't figure out what was causing it, or how to cure it. She checked the scientist who was the first to be brought in by her colleague, Dr Willow. She was about the take his temperature, when something caught her eye. On his side, there was a lump protruding. She ran her fingers over it. It felt like a shaft of bone. Lifting up his robe, she inspected it with horror. A limb, growing out of the side of his ribcage. She could actually see it lengthening. "I need to get a full body X-ray of this patient," she called. This was only going to get worse, she knew.

_24 hours later_

The scientist lifted his body off the bed, screaming at nothing. His hands and legs were restrained. He didn't like that. His extra hands were restrained too. He hated that.

Dr Keller stared at them all through her Hazmat. All of them. They were all going crazy. Lifting themselves off the bed, shrieking at tearing at themselves with their teeth. It sickened her to see them like this. There was no cure. She and Alexia had been working on it, but it would never work.

The scientist lay still. He could see the orange creatures through bloodied eyes. There was anger, hate and energy inside him. He had to get away, to hunt. He waited until the leader came towards him. He clenched his fists, and tore away the restraints. The leader jumped backwards.

Dr Keller heard a crash. She looked over, and saw the scientist jumping out of his restraints. "Help!" She cried. The soldiers at the doors raised their gun, but the creature leapt towards them too fast. Dr Keller closed her eyes as the creature fell on the youngest marine, but she couldn't close her ears. The mans screams lasted for what seemed like hours. The marines opened fire on it, but it looked up, face covered in blood, and bounded away, screaming as a bullet slammed into it's muscular leg.

_27 hours later_

Alexia treated a young soldier for her wounds. The creature was going on the hunt, and more people were being brought in with horrific puncture wounds as a result. She looked into the eyes of the soldier. Lieutenant Cadman her name was. She was in a bad way, her skin had been ripped of her arm, and there was blood all over her. Alexia sighed. This was the end. They were all going to die. Teyla and Ronon had already died, hunting the creature. Teyla had died of internal bleeding that had killed her baby too, and Ronon.... Well, she'd rather not think about that.

Rodney and Colonel Carter were talking in her office. "We have to evacuate Atlantis," Carter said tiredly. "There's no way we can beat this. Evacuate and blow the entire base."

"And risk spreading this disease to Earth?" Rodney argued. "No way, we know quarantine doesn't work, and there's not a cure."

"So what are you suggesting Rodney?"

"We go to the Alpha site. It's just us on that planet, and then we can blow Atlantis."

Sam looked and him. She didn't want to give up on her people, but there was no way they could cure it. "Ok."

_30 hours later_

Dr Keller saw the thing being wheeled in, and she could hardly believe her eyes. They had caught it! It had multiple bullet wounds, but was still in one piece.

"Hey doc, we need you to perform an Autopsy on this guy." Lorne told her. "Colonel Carter said you should." The man looked tired.

"Ok, this could take a while though." Keller looked at all the other patients, more being brought in all the time.

"Alright, whenever you're ready." Lorne smiled at her.

_31 hours later_

"Ok, let's get started," Keller turned in her heavy hazmat suit, looking at Marie. "Scalpel. We'll start with these extra limbs, then move up to the brain and see what's going on there."

Marie nodded and handed her the scalpel. She looked up as Dr Keller slid the knife into the upper arm. Colonel Carter, Rodney and Dr Willow were all watching from the observation room.

Keller grimaced as she cut away the extra skin. It came away easily, leaving slimy trails on the table. "It seems to have no veins or arteries inside." She observed. "Wait," She peeled back a thin layer to reveal the inside. "There seems to be a small vein in the middle." Keller looked at it for a minute, then sighed and made her way to the head. "Opening skull." Keller narrowed her eyes at the skin stretched tight over the head. She tried not to think of how many people they had lost trying to bring this creature down. No-one had seen John for days. He was presumed dead, along with nearly all the members of his team. "What the...?" Keller whispered as she saw inside the skull. "Hypothalamus is swelled, causing the intense heat of the body." She looked at Marie. "That must be why the skin is so thin, it's all to try and cool down."

"And the extra skin?" Marie asked her."

"That must be the extra layers of skin that they couldn't shed." Keller looked up at the people watching her. "It's like they're evolving faster than we could ever comprehend."

Carter looked at Rodney. "Oh crap." Rodney said under his breath.

Keller continued working as Rodney and Carter watching her plaintively from the room.

"Of course..." Keller murmured. "The bodies hunger is controlled by the Hypothalamus as well. It's going of the scale, which is making the creatures into..."

"Cannibals." Rodney finished her sentence for her. "Oh, double crap."

"Veins are swollen." Keller said shortly. "Probably why the creatures are so agitated. Their blood is pumping around at an abnormal rate." She clicked her neck. "Oh no."

"What is it?" Marie asked worriedly.

"The cellebellum is affected." She looked with horror at Marie. "IT makes the creatures unstoppable."

"What's going on?" Rodney demanded.

"The cellebellum, it's evolved...beyond science. It's giving the creatures excellent balance, the ability to climb walls, and letting them move faster."

"Ok, but what's with the amount of energy those things have, doc? I mean, we chased that thing for hours before it went down." Lorne said with a slight catch in his voice.

"Hold on...Yeah I thought so." Keller looked at him. "The Medulla Oblongata is also making the heart rate and breathing speed up, making the blood carry too much oxygen. It's giving the creatures paranormal highs."

"Oh great."

Keller was about to close up the skull, but her hands started to shake uncontrollably.

"Doctor?" Marie held onto her arm.

Keller shook her head, and closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, a drop of blood fell with a small hollow sound onto the inside of her helmet. She looked at Marie in horror, and saw her look reflected in the woman's eyes.

_48 hours later_

Alexia fired shots into the approaching creatures sides. It fell with a howl. Aside her were her friends and colleagues, all shooting desperately at the creatures in front of them. They couldn't hold out for long. Running out of ammunition, tired, hungry and afraid, the few ones who were immune were beginning to falter. Alexia narrowed her eyes and yelled to her team, "Fall back! There's nothing more we can do here! Fall back!" Her words were drowned out by the screams of the people around her. "Harry!" She screamed as the creatures grabbed the man beside her as he stood up to run away."

"Alexia!" He shrieked as the creature dragged him across the floor.

She gritted her teeth, and fired a single shot into the mans head. He died instantly. Alexia turned to her fellows, but saw no-one. She was the only one left. All alone against dozens of man-eating creatures. She looked up into the eyes of the nearest creature, and bolted, hearing the thud of their feet behind her.


	4. Truth

Chapter four

Alexia finished her story abruptly. John stared into the distance, his mouth slightly open, and his hands clenched in his lap. "Why can't I remember anything?" He whispered, sadness colliding with confusion behind his dark eyes.

"I told you, everyone who is exposed has slight amnesia."

"This isn't "slight" amnesia!" John jumped to his feet. "I can't remember anything, not even what happened to my team for god's sake!"

Alexia looked up at him calmly. "Yes, you're right," she said flatly. "I have absolutely no idea what you're going through. I mean, I'm just the only survivor of the massacre I had to witness. I only had to kill my own friends because they were infected. But you," she stood up angrily, "you didn't even have to see all the suffering, and the killing. So you're right. You've had it a lot tougher than me." She stalked a few steps away from him, and ran a hand through her matted hair.

John felt as if he was one inch tall. "I'm sorry," he said gruffly.

Alexia looked over her shoulder at him. "That's ok," she sighed. "I shouldn't have been so hard on you, it's just..." she stopped. "I haven't seen anyone that I can talk to in a while." She gave a dry chuckle. "I guess I'm a bit out of practice."

John smiled lightly. "So, what's the plan?"

"Plan?"

"How are we going to get everyone back to normal?"

Alexia looked away. "We can't," she said quietly.

John didn't say anything. "We can't?" He echoed dimly.

"I'm sorry." Alexia sat down on the small bench. "You expected help. I'm sorry, but there's none to give."

"Well, escape then!" John sat down beside her and patted her awkwardly on the shoulder. "We can go through the Stargate, right? Back to Earth? They can help us I'm sure."

Alexia looked at him in stupefied amazement. "You...really can't remember anything, can you? This disease is ripping through this entire galaxy, and we can't go back to Earth, one, because there just isn't enough power to dial out and, two, even if we could, would you risk spreading this disease back to Earth?"

John looked down at his hands. "What then?"

Alexia didn't answer for a long time. Then she stood up, and looked out into the front of the Jumper. "We blow Atlantis and everyone in it."

"Dr Keller?" Sam asked the woman, looking down into the quarantine chamber. "Is there anything you can do?"

Keller looked up at her, Rodney, Teyla and Ronon. "He's not responding to any of our medicines." She looked at John, lying pale and with oxygen support snaking from his mouth. "His condition is deteriorating."

Sam gave the others a horrified glance. "What does that mean?" She asked over the COM link, dreading the answer.

"It means that...we can't do anything more for him." Keller looked sadly at John. "He's on his own."


	5. Reflections

Chapter five

Dr Keller looked sadly down at John. A tear splashed out of her and fell onto the inside of her helmet. She sniffed angrily. Marie looked at her, concerned. "Doctor," she said quietly, laying a hand on the other woman's shoulder. Keller jumped, and looked at her. "Yes?"

Marie smiled at her. "What do you think is wrong with him?"

Keller sighed. "I don't know, the scan showed an effect on his brain, much like the one caused by the nanites that infected Elizabeth when she was in a coma. She was unconscious, but her E.E.G showed that her brain was extremely active, like she was going about her daily life normally."

"Do you think he is dreaming, like she was?"

"It's a good chance that he is." Keller held John's hand for a moment, before continuing. "If he is, then he has a better chance of fighting what ever is controlling him."

Marie didn't say anything, but watched Johns closed eyelids. Underneath, the pupils moved around as if he was watching something. "Doctor," she said again gently.

"Yes?"

"You're supposed to be in the briefing with Colonel Carter and Dr McKay."

Keller smiled her thanks, and rushed out of the room, leaving Marie alone with the patient.

"No, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to allow that McKay!" Sam protested, glaring at Rodney.

"Why not? It'll save him, won't it?" He retaliated.

"It'll make a huge security risk, not to mention the other risks it might cause him!"

"Worth a shot, though." Rodney looked at the rest of the team for support.

"I want to save him as much as you do," continued Sam, "but do you really think John would like us to do this for him?"

Keller slipped in. Luckily Rodney didn't notice her, or he would have dragged her into the argument, trying to get the doctor and her medical evidence on his side. The conflict between them lasted for about another minute, when Keller's curiosity got the better of her. "What are you guys talking about?" She asked, and they both looked at her guiltily.

John carried a pile of ammunition over to the vests, where Alexia was stuffing guns, grenades, C4 and radios inside one. She looked up at him, and began to wind ammunition around the middle like a belt.

"Do I get one of those?" John joked, because there was only one, already packed so much that whoever wore it would have a great danger of falling.

Alexia zipped it up, and handed it to him. "That is yours."

John accepted it. "Thanks, what are you going to do for weapons?"

Alexia smiled. "I sewed six knives into this t-shirt, and added two gun holsters, and.." She reached under the seat. "I've got a belt."

John looked admirably at the long, think strap of leather, which he could see was going to hold grenades, a whole lot of ammunition (it was practically made of the stuff) and guns, knives and three blocks of C4.

Alexia smiled again. "I made it for the final fight," she said. "Took me a lot of heisting, and a lot of pin-pricked fingers."

John smiled back at her, and grimaced. "Did you notice that on your check?"

Alexia frowned, and put up a hand to the long cut on one side of her face. "Oh, not again." She put the belt down, and sat on the bench, feeling for the med kit under the seats. "I tried to stitch it up, but I just can't sew at the best of times, especially when I've got to mend myself."

"I'll do it." John picked up the needle and sterilised thread. He had a basic understanding of stitching up wounds, and could probably manage.

"Thanks," Alexia turned so that he could reach her easily.

He began working. Each time his finger brushed her check, it was like a bolt of lightening shooting up his arm. His face began to burn, but luckily she couldn't see it. "So," he cleared his throat awkwardly. "Got anyone special back on Earth?"

She laughed. "No. I joined this program about a month ago. Before then I was working at Area 51. I even worked briefly with McKay when he was there."

John raised his eyebrows. "Lucky you." he finished with a flourish. "There you go."

Alexia smiled at him again. She really did have a lovely smile. "We should get some rest before this thing," she told him, and cleared of a side of the Jumper for herself.

"Yeah, ok." John put the kit back under his seat. "Just for a bit."

Alexia chuckled softly. "Yep, then we'll set off in a few hours."

He nodded, and turned his back on her, and lay down. She got up, and turned the power off.

John settled down, and listened to his own breathing. He could hear a strange beeping noise, emerging from the gloom. He opened his eyes, and found himself staring at his own body, but in the Infirmary, with Dr Keller and the nurse staring worriedly down at him, wearing Hazmats. He was vaguely aware of several voices hissing and growling at him in the back of his mind.

"I don't know, the scan showed an effect on his brain, much like the one caused by the nanites that infected Elizabeth when she was in a coma. She was unconscious, but her E.E.G showed that her brain was extremely active, like she was going about her daily life normally." Keller sighed.

"Do you think he is dreaming, like she was?" John could hear them perfectly.

"It's a good chance that he is." He saw Keller hold his hand, but there was no response from the body.

He felt like crying out, telling her that he was alright, or asking why she was still alive. A dozen questions buzzed about in his brain. Had Alexia lied to him? He shook his head, trying to get rid of those infernal voices. He could hear them whispering to him. _He's on his own, _one said. _It's worth a shot though! _another argued. He closed his eyes again. _We're writing your last words! _a voice hissed and screeched in his ear. His eyes snapped open, as he sat bolt upright on his bunk in the back of the Jumper. He ran a hand through his damp hair, and gasped, like a man striving for oxygen after nearly drowning. His heart pounded in his ears. What the hell was that about? He looked over to Alexia. She was staring straight at him.

John jumped. She was sitting perfectly still, half of her face almost glowing from a dim light. He blinked, and watched in horror as her face morphed hideously into a creatures. It bared it's teeth, and snarled at him, a sound that drilled into his brain and made him shudder. He was frozen in terror, when her face returned to normal. _It's all us _he could hear a small voice whispering to him, almost lovingly, but the sound of it made him quake in fear. He felt fear and confusion welling up inside him.

John awoke with a small gasp. He looked around, expecting to see more monsters emerging from the darkness, but only saw Alexia's sleeping form. He sighed, and rubbed a hand over his face.


	6. Ideas

Chapter Six

John was woken by someone poking his shoulder roughly. He sat up with a jerk, and promptly hit his head against the wall. He yelped, and Alexia laughed. "You'll get used to living in a tiny hole."

He was about to retort that he wouldn't have time to get used to it, because they were going on a suicide mission, but bit his tongue. "I had a weird dream last night," he told her.

"Really? How so?" Alexia went to busy herself with tidying things.

"It was as if nothing had happened," John continued. "I was in the Infirmary, and I heard Keller talking about what was wrong with me, and you know the weirdest part? It made perfect sense to me."

Alexia stiffened. "Forget about it," she said gruffly, almost angrily.

He looked at her in surprise. "What?"

She came and sat down beside him. "Look, I need you to be here and now. This is going to be difficult, and I'm gonna need you to concentrate. It was just a dream." She squeezed his hand. "I know it's going to be hard, and maybe the dream was the stress I was putting you under. But hey, it's not like I'm making you write your eulogy!" She chuckled awkwardly. John joined in, but a shiver went up his spine as he remembered the words she hissed in his dream. We're writing your last words.

They crept along the corridors of Atlantis. John had never felt it so...eerie. They could barely see one metre ahead of them.

"The control is their Hive," whispered Alexia. "We're gonna be detected, whatever we do."

John nodded. "So, what are..."

Alexia tackled him into a closet before he could finish. "What are you...?" He spluttered, but Alexia put a hand over his mouth. She closed the door, leaving a tiny gap for them to see through.

"Out there!" She mouthed.

John fell silent as a group of the creatures raced past. They howled and screeched, bouncing off the walls. He held his breath as Alexia removed her hand.

"They're gone," said Alexia softly after a few minutes. She looked up at John.

John felt awkward. They were standing practically nose to nose, and he could count the freckles across her nose. At least, they looked like freckles. For all he knew, they could be dried spots of blood.

Alexia seemed not to notice. She squeezed out of the closet, checking the coast was clear. John sighed, and followed her. "Hey, thanks for saving my ass, again," he whispered.

She smiled. "Thank me after I've killed us both."

Rodney walked up to Keller after the meeting. "Look, I know that I'm not exactly...well...pleasant when it comes to medical science," he grimaced at the word science. "But you're going to need my help with this."

"You think I could do this without you?" Keller laughed. "Come on, I know that I'm the chief of medicine here, but when we're doing something like this, I kinda need you."

Rodney straightened up, trying not to smile. "Anyway, I've been working on a program after I was kidnapped by that guy who kidnapped Jeanie, and I think I have a way to iron out the faults in the program."

Keller began walking to the Infirmary. "When have you found time to do that?"

"Oh, you know, spare time."

Keller stopped and looked at him. "You repair nanite technology in your spare time?"

Rodney looked confused. "Yeah, why?"

She smiled, and began walking again. "Never mind."

"Anyway, I think they can now repair any defect, including brain trauma, without putting the body into a vegetated state."

"Really? How the hell is that possible?"

"Well, I'm close, but I still need a while, but the brain is just a huge bio computer, right? We simply upload John's consciousness onto an Asgard program, and...."

"Wait, what?"

"An Asgard program, the kind they use to transfer consciousnesses to new bodies when they clone themselves." Rodney waved his hand as if it was nothing. "Look, we just need to ask Sam if she can get something like that off the Odyssey."

Sam looked stunned when Rodney asked her. "I'll see what I can do." She sighed as Rodney scooted from the room.


	7. In the air

Chapter 7

The transporter doors loomed out at them through the darkness. John shot a look at Alexia. She looked steadily at the doors that would carry her to her death, and walked forwards. He felt something stirring in the pit of his chest. He drew up beside her, and they stood side by side, looking at the glowing portholes. Neither of them spoke, but John had never felt that close to the woman who had saved his life in all his time with her.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Alexia looked at him, her face perfectly calm.

"I wouldn't let you die alone," he answered gruffly, looking down into her eyes. She smiled at him, and slipped her rough, cold hand into his. She ran her other hand up the back of his neck, and whispered "If I could undo all the things that happened, I wouldn't miss a second." She lifted her face up to his, and kissed him.

The nurse who was checking John's chart suddenly looked up as the heart monitor speeded up it's beeping. She was about to call Dr Keller, but it subsided, and went back to normal. She shrugged, and went back to work.

Alexia lowered her head. She looked away, smiling slightly. John was feeling a little bewildered. She noticed, and waved a hand in front of his face. "Wakey wakey!" She grinned. "We gotta be alert." The transporter doors swished open, and Alexia took a step forwards, but stopped. "Listen."

John paused. "What?"

Alexia stepped out. "They're coming."

John listened. In the distance, he could hear the growing shrieks and howls of the creatures echoing across to them. He grasped his gun, "Hell!"

"Take cover!" Alexia yelled at him, and they scrambled behind the sharp corners.

A group of creatures came bounding around the halls, grotesquely pouncing on each other, and howling with madness.

"Open fire!" Alexia sent a rain of bullets through the air. The leader fell, and so did several others, but three tackled her over, and she screamed. John turned, and leapt across to her, pulling them away. She managed to fire a bullet into the leg of another, and they turned to her, shrieking with ungodly rage. John fired a bullet into the back of one, and it looked him directly in the eye. It launched itself through the air, and he jumped aside. It landed on the floor with agility, and roared again. He let fire without holding back, and it fell, it's mouth still open. John looked for Alexia, and saw her fighting two of them. He started towards her, but she yelled at him "Get back! Look out for more!" She pulled out a hand-gun, but it was knocked aside. She pulled out a long knife, and slashed right and left. She flipped over mid-air, and slit the throat of one before she even landed. The other cowered to the floor, and she mercilessly plunged her knife into it's back.

John looked on as she walked calmly towards him, covered in blood. "Let's go," she croaked, and stepped into the transporter. John followed her, and the last thing he saw was the bodies of the creatures, beaten down by Alexia. He looked up, and saw a vision of himself in the hall. His eyes widened as the other John fell, shot by thousands of bullets in his back. The blood dripped from his wide open mouth, as the transporter doors closed on his own dead body.


End file.
